Here are the player ratings as Tottenham squeak past Liverpool 1-0 in a thrilling, albeit somewhat sloppy, League Cup first leg semifinal.
GK Antonin Kinsky, 8.0
An excellent display in goal. Antonin Kinsky may not have been tested much by a surprisingly tame Liverpool attack, but he rose to the occasion when he was troubled and, unlike more touted counterpart Alisson Becker, looked very comfortable with the ball at his feet. His save at the end against Darwin Nunez was particularly outstanding.
LB Djed Spence, 7.5
Djed Spence performed about as well as anyone could ask against Mohamed Salah, the best player in the Premier League, as he left the Egyptian in positions outside the box and generally pocketed the world-class right winger.
By keeping things simple, Spence was able to remain in control, and, on the offensive end, he had some solid surges forward, performing his duties on both ends of the pitch at an above-average level.
CB Archie Gray, 7.5
The talented youngster far exceeded expectations at the center back position against Liverpool, marshaling the forwards comfortably and reading the game as if he were on par with a Virgil van Dijk or Cristian Romero himself.
CB Radu Dragusin, 7.5
Brilliant goal-line clearance to save the game for Tottenham and did well to answer some of his lingering critics by playing a calm, no-nonsense game in central defense for Spurs.
RB Pedro Porro, 6.0
Sprung the initial pass that led to Lucas Bergvall’s goal. He could have been more effective going forward and a little more assertive in one-on-ones against Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo, though.
CM Lucas Bergvall, 8.0
Always looked like the most logical option to score based on the sheer amount of running and threat he carried from midfield. Though he fought enough defensively to win three tackles, Lucas Bergvall constantly surged forward to help buoy the attack and was brilliant all night long.
Maybe Liverpool fans will have wanted a second yellow card for the tackle on Kostas Tsimikas, but Bergvall had won enough of the ball – sending him off for a sliding tackle that wasn’t really even a foul would have been unduly harsh.
Bergvall was, even outside of that, an annoyance to the entire Liverpool team, and it was only fitting that he slotted home his finish with aplomb. He has the makings of a star in North London.
CM Yves Bissouma, 8.0
A whopping 10 combined tackles and interceptions, you can’t tell the story of this Tottenham victory without praising Yves Bissouma, who was more than equal to the quality of Liverpool’s midfield trio, which has been the best in the Premier League this season.
Nothing Bissouma does will wow fans outside of Tottenham, but he’s a classic example of how effort alone can mean so much in midfield, especially since he is counted on as the engine room for this team.
CM Dejan Kulusevski, 6.0
Kulusevski spent most of the game defending after Rodrigo Bentancur’s early injury forced him back to midfield, and the Swedish international showed why he has become a key leader for Tottenham by executing his task without any fuss.
LW Son Heung-min, 6.0
Although the captain worked hard for his team on both ends and did create a pair of chances for his teammates, this was below the caliber of performance Son Heung-min would have expected from himself, especially in such a big game.
As a whole, his amount of threat on the Liverpool defense was quite low, as you never really got a sense of danger from the South Korean in the box. As has been the case this season, it feels like Son is being held back by a mediocre team around him.
ST Dominic Solanke, 7.0
Caught offside by the most razor thin of margins by Trent Alexander-Arnold, who had to lean FORWARD in order to prevent getting caught off by the astute English striker.
A former Liverpool prospect, Solanke still delivered the goods to sink the Reds in the end with dogged determination to latch onto Porro’s long ball, incredible strength to hold off the world-class Konate, and the presence of mind to deliver yet another key pass in the direction of a rushing Bergvall.
RW Brennan Johnson, 5.0
Agonizingly close to the assist for Solanke, but, in the end, it didn’t count. Johnson’s night in relief of Bentancur ended up being a pretty nondescript one for the talented 23-year-old Welshman.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.